Wisconsin State Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) is facing a tough recall election against Democrat Lori Compas, and over the weekend he expressed incredulity that Compas was capable of mounting her challenge without the help of her husband and the state’s powerful unions.

“I don’t for one minute believe she is the organizing force behind this whole thing,” Fitzgerald told the Wisconsin State Journal, which reported that “Fitzgerald said he thinks her husband is one of the main forces behind her campaign.”

Compas, a former journalist and freelance photographer who has been trailing Fitzgerald in polls, hit back hard:

“That is pretty insulting, but it does seem in keeping with his general views on women,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for them. That’s OK; he can keep underestimating me.”

Compas said that if Fitzgerald really doubts she is a serious candidate, he should accept her invitation to debate. “I have challenged him to five debates,” she said. “If he thinks I can’t handle myself, he should come out and face me.”

Fitzgerald, who voted to repeal Wisconsin’s pay equity law and eliminate all state funding for Planned Parenthood, has already earned the ire of women’s groups across the state, and Planned Parenthood is supporting the recall effort and has endorsed Compas.